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Technology companies and child safety organizations will receive permission to evaluate whether AI tools can generate child abuse images under new British laws.

Significant Increase in AI-Generated Harmful Material

The declaration coincided with findings from a safety watchdog showing that reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse material have increased dramatically in the past year, rising from 199 in 2024 to 426 in 2025.

New Regulatory Structure

Under the amendments, the government will permit designated AI developers and child safety groups to inspect AI systems – the underlying technology for chatbots and visual AI tools – and ensure they have adequate protective measures to prevent them from creating images of child exploitation.

"Ultimately about preventing abuse before it occurs," declared Kanishka Narayan, noting: "Experts, under rigorous protocols, can now identify the risk in AI models early."

Tackling Legal Challenges

The amendments have been introduced because it is against the law to produce and own CSAM, meaning that AI creators and other parties cannot create such content as part of a evaluation regime. Previously, authorities had to wait until AI-generated CSAM was uploaded online before addressing it.

This legislation is designed to averting that problem by enabling to halt the production of those materials at their origin.

Legal Structure

The changes are being added by the authorities as revisions to the crime and policing bill, which is also establishing a ban on possessing, creating or sharing AI systems developed to create exploitative content.

Real-World Consequences

This recently, the official toured the London base of Childline and heard a simulated conversation to counsellors featuring a account of AI-based abuse. The call portrayed a teenager requesting help after being blackmailed using a sexualised deepfake of themselves, created using AI.

"When I learn about young people experiencing extortion online, it is a cause of intense anger in me and justified concern amongst families," he stated.

Concerning Data

A leading internet monitoring foundation reported that instances of AI-generated exploitation material – such as online pages that may contain numerous files – had more than doubled so far this year.

Cases of the most severe content – the most serious form of exploitation – rose from 2,621 images or videos to 3,086.

• Female children were overwhelmingly victimized, accounting for 94% of prohibited AI depictions in 2025
• Depictions of infants to two-year-olds increased from five in 2024 to 92 in 2025

Industry Response

The law change could "constitute a vital step to guarantee AI products are safe before they are launched," stated the chief executive of the online safety organization.

"Artificial intelligence systems have enabled so victims can be victimised all over again with just a few clicks, giving criminals the ability to create potentially limitless quantities of advanced, lifelike child sexual abuse material," she continued. "Material which further commodifies survivors' trauma, and makes children, especially female children, less safe both online and offline."

Counseling Interaction Information

The children's helpline also released details of counselling sessions where AI has been referenced. AI-related harms discussed in the conversations comprise:

• Employing AI to rate body size, body and appearance
• Chatbots dissuading young people from consulting trusted guardians about abuse
• Being bullied online with AI-generated material
• Digital extortion using AI-faked images

Between April and September this year, the helpline conducted 367 support interactions where AI, conversational AI and associated terms were mentioned, significantly more as many as in the equivalent timeframe last year.

Half of the mentions of AI in the 2025 interactions were connected with psychological wellbeing and wellness, including utilizing chatbots for assistance and AI therapy applications.